Swedish furniture retailer Ikea has apologized for a catalog aimed at Israel’s ultra-Orthodox Jewish community that contains no images of women.
Ikea says the booklet was produced by its Israeli branch, not by the Swedish group itself.
IKEA spokeswoman Josefin Thorell says the catalog “is not something that has gone through us,” adding “we have been very clear that this is not what the Ikea brand stands for.”
Thorell told Swedish news agency TT late Friday that its Israeli franchise “had tried to reach a consumer group” and made “an error.”
Thorell was not immediately available for comment on Saturday, and it was not clear how many catalogs had been printed.
Israel’s ultra-Orthodox Jewish community makes up make up about 11 percent of Israel’s population.
(AP)
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10 Responses
Apologizing for being respectful to women? I find that offensive.
How interesting…these “progressive” Swedish “feminists” cover up with a hijab while visiting regressive Iran. When called out on their hypocrisy, they say they were just respecting the culture.
Suddenly, culture doesn’t seem to bother them when it comes to Jews. I smell a rat.
What is the apology for? What wrong did they do? What’s wrong in printing a women-less catalog? Surely in Saudi Arabia etc. they would also custom print their catalogs.
I thought the catalog was very attractive. I appreciate advertising that is geared for charedim. And they gave equal time for litvish and chasidish. I noticed that the food pictures contained items that have infestation problems like strawberries and figs, but it’s just pictures.
I live in Jerusalem so I haven’t ever shopped at Ikea. In principle, I would shop there. I don’t think they should be criticized for this, and I don’t think they need to apologize.
Actually the IKEA Saudi Arabia catalog has three women pictured on the front cover!
If seeing a woman in print bothers you that much, you shouldn’t be on the Internet in the first place.
If no female catalogues is how one attracts this market segment, and it is a segment they are interested in capturing, the local group did the right thing. Why are they apologizing?
#1, how is eliminating pictures of women being respectful of women? I find that thinking offensive.
@jerusalem-observer u seriously checked???!!! Who cares. Let those who respect this be. And its a terrible “taineh” that u shpuldnt be on the internet to IF U dont want to see women because there is nothing wrong with making gedorim. WE NEED PEACE AND HARMONY FOR MASHIACH TO COME!!!
#9 you are right, it is good to make “gedorim” but if you are so sensitive to shemiras einayim that it really bothers you to see a woman in print, you really should be more sensitive to the michsholim of the Internet and keep far, far away.